Education

HILLSVILLE — Doing as the Carroll supervisors requested in May, Carroll Industrial Development Authority members decided to seek construction bids on a mechanical system update at the high school.
After a closed session at their Monday meeting, authority member Richard Sowers made a motion to seek bids for the effort to replace the aging heating and air conditioning system at Carroll County High School.
The authority members approved the motion unanimously after a second from Clinton Willie.

Chestnut Creek School of the Arts in Galax review its progress over the past year and looked ahead to a new woodworking studio at its most recent board meeting.
For the school’s first year, 2011-2012, the school showed an overall growth of 173 percent. Documents shared with the CCSA board showed a significant rise in numbers in most of the categories, including Junior Appalachian Musicians (JAM) hours, outreach and on-demand usage, the Empty Bowls project, The Galax Art Guild and facility usage.

The Galax City School Board has selected Justin Iroler to serve as principal of Galax High School beginning July 1.
Iroler will fill the vacancy left by departing principal Dr. Jody Ray, who resigned in May.
The board unanimously approved Iroler for the position during a board meeting on May 29. The news was announced during a faculty meeting the next day, and those in attendance gave a standing ovation, according to School Board Chairman Ray Kohl.
Galax Schools Superintendent Bill Sturgill told The Gazette that the board was pleased with the selection.

INDEPENDENCE — Grayson County will move forward with seeking certification to continue its auto mechanics program through the county’s Career and Technical Education Center (CATE).
CATE Principal Karen Blevins talked with the school board earlier this month requesting approval to seek certification.
Blevins explained that at some point the certification was dropped, primarily due to costs.
At the time, having a certified instructor was sufficient. Legislation changed two years ago, requiring programs to be certified by July 1, 2013.

As Galax High School’s senior class prepares to graduate on May 31, some members of the Class of 2013 are leaving their mark on their alma mater.
Ali Reyna’s idea was to leave a literal mark, in the form of a mural of fellow seniors’ handprints.
“I wanted to leave a legacy for our senior class: an artwork to continue over the years,” he said.
After brainstorming several ideas, he came up with the concept of using a wall inside the school for seniors to leave their handprints before they graduate.

HILLSVILLE — Carroll schools officials have advised educators and staff affected by the county’s grade reshuffling, particularly those at Woodlawn, that it’s time to get moving.
With the closing of the school steeped in history at Woodlawn, grades six and seven will join the eighth grade at what will now be called the Carroll County Middle School this fall. The ninth grade will go to Carroll County High School.

HILLSVILLE — School meal prices will rise again, even as some student fees get lower or go away entirely, the Carroll County School Board discussed at its Tuesday meeting.
“We have new guidance on these so they were looked at extremely carefully this year,” explained Tammy Quesenberry, school finances director. “A couple of the fees were removed, and we reduced a few of those. The fees for core subject areas such as PE and English were removed entirely and we reduced art and electronics.”

WOODLAWN — Preparations for the closing of Woodlawn School have been going on for several weeks.
Paintings have come down from the main hallway walls, a little red wagon has carted out boxes of documents as the clearing begins and the staff has started to sort through the items they’ve accumulated on their desks and in their offices over the years.

HILLSVILLE — Seeking funding for replacing the heating and air conditioning system at Carroll County High School came up at the county supervisors' meeting Monday, during a school construction update.
Taking action to replace the more than 40-year-old system arose at the end of Clerk of the Works Dennis Cole’s report, though there’s not much left to report on as Phase 3 improvements at the high and intermediate schools are down to going over the warranty items with contractors and other finishing touches.